Connecticut is in need of about 90,000 more affordable housing units, but one project in Meriden aims to put a dent in demand, while preserving history.
Meriden’s old Aeolian Organ and Music Company factory, which was established in 1887 and went out of business in 1985, will soon be converted into the Tremont Flats. The Tremont Street apartment building will have 82 units.
Tremont Flats will be a mixed-income building, with 11 market rate units and the remaining 71 catering to families of various income levels.
The mixed income housing provides a level of dignity that combats the stigma often associated with public and low-income housing, according to Congresswoman Jahana Hayes, a Democrat who represents the state’s 5th Congressional District, which includes Meriden.
“To have housing where literally, there's no distinction between someone who is low income, someone who is [in] a two income household, where you can get an apartment for $600 and $1,900 in the same space with the same amenities is really important,” Hayes said.
According to Hayes, families in her district spend an average of 36% of their monthly income on housing.
“This is how we have to approach tackling the housing crisis in this district, from community to community,” Hayes said. “The people in the Tremont Street area are used to seeing this factory. They've always seen it. So it's no change to the culture, to the landscape, to the community that's already here.”
The Aeolian Company factory made self-playing pianos, before the record player took over.
With demand dwindling, the company left its Meriden factory in 1930. Since the 1930s, the factory changed hands and saw many uses.
Tremont Flats will offer apartments at five different affordability levels, according to Dan Drazen, vice president of development at Trinity Financial, the project’s owner and developer.
“It's going to activate an underutilized historic asset. It's going to remediate a heavily contaminated brownfield site, and, most importantly, it's going to create 82 units of mixed-income housing,” Drazen said.
The majority are designated affordable, with 28 units reserved for residents earning up to 50% of the area’s median income (AMI) and 17 units for residents earning 30% AMI.
Rent for two-bedroom apartments range from $1,900 for market rate and about $650 for 30% AMI residents, Drazen said.
About half of the $56 million for the project will go toward local small businesses for their construction work, Drazen said.
Meriden is one of the few communities in the state that meet the mandated requirement of 10% housing affordability. As of 2023, the city surpassed the minimum, with 17% of its housing stock being deemed affordable, according to Connecticut affordable housing data.
Tremont Flats will be move-in ready by the end of 2025, according to Drazen.
